Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction to evaluate human cytomegalovirus lytic gene expression

This paper describes the development of four Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) assays devised to evaluate lytic (UL123, immediate-early; UL54, early; UL65, late; and UL99, true late) human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) transcripts. Subsequently, the assays have been validated evaluating the HCMV lytic gene expression in 28 samples (peripheral blood leukocytes, PBLs) from 14 renal transplant recipients. Although the assessment of HCMV transcriptional profile could be useful to evaluate viral reactivation state, further studies on dynamics of viral transcripts in different clinical settings are needed to determine the role of transcriptional profiling in virological monitoring and therapeutic management in immunocompromised patients.